Sister Wives' Meri, Janelle and Christine Brown Reflect on Relationship With Kody Brown
Meri, Janelle and Christine Brown are taking a trip down memory lane.
In E! News' exclusive clip from the Dec. 24 special Sister Wives Look Back: How It Started, the TLC stars reflect on the early days of their longterm relationship with their now-ex Kody Brown.
In archived footage, Kody—who is currently still married to Robyn Brown—is seen gushing over how much he had common with ex-wife Meri, who confirmed in 2022 that they broke up after 32 years together.
"There's a lot that I loved about Meri," he says of his first wife in the throwback clip included in the upcoming special. "I didn't know that I loved her because of her adventure level."
But for Meri, hearing his declaration now proves that he did, in fact, love her at one point in time, despite him since saying otherwise.
"Looking at the things he was saying about me, like, ‘I didn't know I was in love with you for this reason or you know, ‘I love you for this reason,' it's like—yeah, yeah you did," she shares in her present-day confessional. "Remember that you did."
As for Kody's bond with Janelle, the former couple—who called it quits on their nearly 30-year romance in 2022—seemed to be in love more than ever during the early days of their reality TV journey.
"I just see our relationship continuing to be very involved with each other," Janelle noted in a confessional at the time. "I see that until we die."
It's a sentiment that Janelle explains derived from their ability to talk about anything.
"Kody and I were always very good friends," she says after watching the footage, "so we had a lot of discussion, a lot of companionship…I mean at this point, I didn't perceive that changing. Kody and I's strongest foundation was that we were friends, I mean really, truly, we were very good friends."
Kody also shared that basis of friendship when it came to his 25-year relationship with ex Christine, with whom he split from in 2021.
"Christine and my relationship in the past has been very well established on the lightness of life," Kody notes during footage of the couple in the early days, "just the pleasure of being alive and being together. So, we have had a couple years of struggle, but we've been able to find that place once in a while and here we've found it again."
As for how he feels now about their dynamic?
"Okay, on the state that Christine and I on here, we're acknowledging the struggle we're having and we had one good day," he explains in his current confessional. "So, now we're talking about, ‘Oh, now it's better, we had this one good day.' When you're together, even if it's not good, you do your best. You're optimistic. You try to work things out in the relationship."
And though ultimately their relationship didn't work out, Christine—who tied the knot with David Wooley earlier this year—can agree with her ex's assessment.
"Some downs were really low, some ups were really high," she notes of their romance now. "And that was a high. It was definitely a high, it was great."
With a laugh, Christine adds of the footage, "We were probably getting along for a couple of weeks there."
Catch up on their entire journey when Sister Wives Look Back: How It Started airs Dec. 24 at 10/9c on TLC. Until then, keep reading for more on where each star stands in their love life today.
"She looked like a soccer mom," Kody Brown once joked on Sister Wives of meeting then-single mom Robyn in 2009. "She had a van, three kids and was divorced. I thought, 'I didn't need a van, a divorced woman, and three kids in my life—that's just trouble.'"
Nearly a decade and a half on, though, they're still kicking it, the pair adding son Solomon, 12, and daughter Ariella, 7, to the squad. As for bringing on other teammates, it's not in the game plan. "I really, really struggle with it because it feels, like, 'Oh, well. Those didn't work. So, on to [someone] new,'" Robyn said on the December Sister Wives: One on One special of Meri, Janelle and Christine leaving the fold. "That's hard for me. That's really, really hard for me. It feels disrespectful."
She got the man and the family. Going official with her and David Woolley's romance on Valentine's Day 2023, Christine Brown shared, "I finally found the love of my life, David. The first time he held me close, it felt like my soul took its first breath. He's wonderful and kind, incredible with my children and an adorable grandpa. I never dreamed I could find a love like this."
Two months later he added to the fantasy with a spring proposal. "David treats me like a queen and tells me I'm beautiful everyday," Christine told People. "I've never been in love like this before and the world seems like a brighter place with him in it."
Tying the knot in Utah Oct. 7, she wrote, "I'm so blessed! I've married my best friend."
The first of the 18 Brown children to walk down the aisle, Janelle's eldest daughter, Madison Brown, now 28, wed Caleb Brush at a 2016 outdoor wedding in Montana captured by TLC's cameras. Nearly seven years later, the two have multiplied their love with Josephine joining big brother Axel, 6, and big sister Evie, 4, in February.
"One month as a family of 5 and my heart is bursting," North Carolina-based Maddie wrote on Instagram in March. "I didn't know this kind of peace amongst chaos could be had."
Four years after their engagement aired on the TLC reality show, Meri Brown's only child, Leon Brown, has settled in Denver with partner Audrey Kriss. "my sweetest symphony," Leon, 28, raved of their fiancé. "Life with you truly is so sweet." Echoed Audrey, "Being your partner and watching your growth and coming into yourself over the years has been an honor and joy."
Eldest kid Logan Brown, 29, got the gang back together when he married longtime girlfriend Michelle Petty in Arizona this past October. "It was a beautiful day and this mama's heart was mush the whole time," Janelle shared on Instagram of her son's wedding. "You always have such a sense of peace when your children find amazing life partners."
More than six years after her 2016 wedding to Antonio "Tony" Padron, Mykelti Brown joked that they'd already tested the limits of their marriage vows by welcoming twins Archer and Ace into the fold in November 2022.
"We have 3 kids and 4 moves under our belt," noted the 27-year-old, also mom to Avalon, 2. "A whole lot of good times and some hard times #surprisetwins But here we are still doing this whole marriage thing."
In the five years since they wed, Christine's daughter Aspyn Brown, 28, and husband Mitch Thompson have traveled everywhere from Paris to Alaska. But last December, they put down roots, Mitch sharing on Instagram, "We bought our first home! Just in time for Christmas."
Before hitting their one-year anniversary, Christine's daughter Gwendlyn Brown and love Beatriz Queiroz went to the happiest place on earth and marked six months together with chocolate fondue. Then came the really sweet part. The 22-year-old shared a glimpse at the candlelit, rose-filled proposal on Instagram in November 2022, writing simply, "i'm engaged!!"
The couple wed in July, sharing the news on Instagram the caption: "Say hello to mrs (x2) queiroz."
